I gape at her. “That’s… interesting.”
No. Don’t get your hopes up, Lay. Just… no.
“Yeah, weird, huh? But we met under strange circumstances. I was running from the Chinese mafia, and he was running from the Organization who wanted him dead, so… we had to catch up later.”
Hawk and I don’t have such an excuse. Sure, we had some intense adventures this week, but before that, all those months we simply fucked, we never… Well, I never…
Never thought dating was a possibility.
“Just give it time,” she says sympathetically, reaching for my hand over the table, and I wonder what my expression must be like for her to do that. “You’ve had a rough time. Hawk is a good guy. You’ll be fine.”
I don’t know what to say, but I’m saved by the arrival of Storm. He strides into the kitchen, spots us and his face breaks into a huge grin.
“Ladies.” He walks around the table, steps behind his girlfriend and slides his arms around her. Places his hands over her belly. “How are my girls today?”
It takes me an endless moment to understand what he’s doing. I mean, I wasn’t expecting this.
“We’re fine,” Raylin says with a smile. “Just fine.”
“Good,” he says, ?
?because I was gonna—”
I never hear what he’s going to do because I push back my chair and escape the kitchen and their perfect family bliss, the tears I’ve been keeping at bay for so long running down my cheeks like rivers.
***
“Babe? Layla?” Hawk knocks on the bathroom door again. “Are you okay? Can you please open the door?”
“Just a minute.” I wipe at my eyes again. God, I’m a wreck. Maybe I should go see a shrink. Get some Prozac. Something. “I’ll be right out.”
He’s leaning on the door frame when I emerge, and his expression darkens when he sees me.
“What the fuck’s wrong?” He grabs my arms, not letting me escape from him. “What happened while I was asleep?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t. That doesn’t fly with me, babe. Tell me what’s wrong so that I can fix it.” He drags me closer and wraps his arms securely around me.
It shouldn’t feel so good.
“Nothing, I promise. I’m just still tired.”
He nuzzles the top of my head. “Okay. You weren’t sick again, were you?”
“No.” It’s the truth. Though bile keeps rising in my throat, and my stomach won’t settle, but I haven’t thrown up again. I guess that’s a win.
“Good. You got me worried. Have you eaten something?”
“Yes. With Raylin.”
“She’s a nice girl.” I hear a smile in his voice, and I tense. “Storm is fucking head over heels in love with her.”
Lucky girl. In so many ways. “Right.”
“Okay, something’s wrong.” He pushes me off just enough to look into my face, and he frowns more. “Layla. You’re crying.”
“I’m not.”